Antica Trattoria della Gigina — Restaurant in Bologna

Gigina isn't in the centre of Bologna it's a short taxi ride north of the city 10 minutes approximately. We caught the bus as it's only €1.50 per head and approximately 20 minutes from the centre of town. I haven't got a bad word to say about the place but I'll start with the things that are odd. We arrived at about 7.50pm for an 8.00pm reservation. We were told we don't open until 8.00pm and sent packing. Not something I've ever experienced before, and not something I'd normally tolerate, but we were there on the recommendation of Fred Plotkin so we persisted. To fill the 10 minutes we wandered across the road to Italian Lidl. The usual stuff in there with one notable item Pope candles. You don't see those in heathen London (that's all of it in case your in any doubt. We also like it that way I'm not complaining.) At the appointed hour we arrived back at reception where this time we received a warm welcome. Presumably the receptionist had changed her starched knickers for a more comfortable pair in the interceding 10 minutes. The food is generous, high quality well prepared and delicious. Just the kind of thing that Bologna is famous for. The waiting staff are friendly and professional. The price is reasonable €71.50 per head for three courses including a €40 bottle of wine. It's not cheap, it's not expensive, it is good value for money. Most of the tables are populated with families or friends, groups of 6 or 8 people. As far as I could see we were the only couple dining alone. If I could change one thing it would be to dim the lights. The main room was like a floodlit runway. The smaller room where we were had better lighting but really it all could have been dimmed. We left happy, wouldn't hesitate to go back and I got see Pope candles in a supermarket. What more...

Ambience (0 stars): My perception as a tourist is: unpleasant. We thought at first the reason why they put us in an empty room separate from the locals was our sleeping baby. However, after us came another tourist whom they placed in the same room as us. Culturally speaking, separating the "tourists" is an absolute disaster. We come to the country to catch the magic and not just bluntly consume food separate from all the locals. Otherwise it doesn’t make sense to eat here at all.

Food (4 stars): Fazzoletti were fantastic. The Ragu was flavored optimally, if not a little dry - but still super. The grilled vegetables with smoked burrata were excellent.

Service (5 stars): Waiter/waitress: was extremely friendly, competent and also interacted with our baby. Very lively and positive.

The owner or head waitress made the decision to put us tourists in a separate room and is probably more interested in money instead of good service or good impression. Then at the end pay another 4€ per person for coperta. I would rather have given the money to the waiter than to the management.

Bad management which gives the trattoria, at least as a tourist, no characteristics or ambience - unless you want to eat well alone and separated in...

Amazing food and appropriately priced. We skipped appetizers and I ordered the gnocchi in truffle Parmesan sauce while my partner had the spinach lasagna. The lasagna had a home style quality and good portion .

The highlight of the whole evening for me was the gnocchi. The sauce was sublime and gnocchi melted in your mouth!! Decent portion and very rich so I skipped the secondi.

My partner tried the steak with the Parmesan cream sauce and balsamic. I must definitely style a few bites! The beef was cooked perfectly and buttery.

For dessert we got the fried cream with gelato. Essentially crunchy fried custard cubes served with gelato which provided a nice contrast.

Restaurant was busy but our server was super sweet and really made our night. The restaurant was also open on a Tuesday night when many places are closed and accommodated us despite not having a...